The CARBS of Hartford formed in 55, the CARBS in M*** formed later. They had no connection but club members did interact with each other at various events. The original CARBS plaque featured the intake with two deuces. They later changed the design to the state plaque with the "jalopy". I've been collecting Carbs memoribilla and history for the past five or so years. I'll be posting the history of the club soon in a new thread. I'm still in the process of scanning pictures and collecting the oral history from surviving members
Haven't heard anything back from the fella that supposedly last owned the car. In the meantime I hope to get some more pictures scanned Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
I remember seeing this car at McDonalds and the Sesme Car Hop on the Berlin Turnpike, Newington CT. in the early sixty's. I also saw it at the Hartford Autorama, not sure what year? I have programs for 1959,60,61,and 62 Autorama, and it is not in them. I also saw it at the swap meet held in the auction lot on rt5 in South Windsor CT. Had to have been in the late seventy's.
It was in the march 62' Car craft mag; coverage of Hartford autorama...I don't remember when the Autoramas where held so it could have been in late 61' or early 62'..
IIRC the two I went to [I think '59 & '61] were in Feb. Given magazine lead times I'd say the CC pics were from '61 or earlier. I don't remember seeing it there in '61 but that doesn't mean much, I don't remember quite what I used to....... I'm still keeping an eye out for some old photo's I might still have.
Awesome story and a great looking car, the power of the HAMB eh, sorting out the mystery surrounding this cool car and hopefully where it ended up? Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
Here is a great photo of the Ice Box taken by John Bozio of East Hartford in 1962. He couldn't remember what show it was but my guess is that it must have been the Hartford Autorama, or the National Auto Review that John Hychko and Frank Maratta held in Hartford. The Autorama was held in February and the Auto Review in October. I checked the program from the 1962 Autorama, and it is not mentioned there! Any news on the swap meet car @100% Matt ?
Superfleye, thanks for posting that picture. When I saw the car at Conn Dragway, 60 or 61, thats how I remember it. Sometimes you see a car and it sticks with you forever, reason unknown. Probably because to a kid just out of high school from a little farming town, it was cool like the cars in the little magazines I bought faithfully every month. Weren't there drain stoppers in each pipe secured with a wing nut for running on the street? Another obscure trivia bit lodged somewhere.
Quote by Seb Fontana: "..If the guy I sold some old radar wheels to would contact me we could probably sort out time frames better but his name and his friend's [looker] escapes me.... Seb, that was me who bought those Rader wheels at your home. The guy you knew at Pratt,knew the last owner that actually ran the car on the road in the very early 1970s. That owner was John H., from Willington Ct which borders Coventry CT. John is still around here but I doubt he would know the Fla connection....Seb, you mentioned the car being around "Storrs, CT". That is where John worked or may still be working, at the University of Connecticut. I'd bet he drove it to work, and if he still lived with his folks in willington, it is just minutes away. Coventry is always mentioned in folklore as the "last" owners home town in the mid-late 70s that was trying to sell it as a basket-roller at the swaps. I saw it a few times when John owned it, around 70 or 71 ish. I still recall how nasty that car looked at it was coming past on the road. The chop looked more noticeable than the last pic above....at least thats what it looked like while in motion. It was wild for sure. I later spotted it at the corner of Ellington Ave/Prospect St near the park above Rockville CT. There was a for-sale sign on it. I got all excited until I found out the price; $3500. That was huge money then. For example, soon after, I bought a running/driving 50s built fullfender Mopar roadster from Ronnie Godfrey a few streets away in Rockville, for $800. I've always lived very near Coventry, and I never did find out who the guy was that had it all apart at the swaps. The story I heard, was that a guy from Pratt bought it from the Coventry guy, but later retired and moved to Fla with the unfinished car. it supposedly was still in the house garage there for 20 years, but at that point, the other guy at Pratt lost contact with his former co-worker. I don't know who that co-worker was. He was the one who said the car went to Fla. If Matt can ask around more at Pratt East Hartford plant. I think that is where a 70 year old rodder still was working a few years ago. That guy lives in Stafford near Sun Valley and he now owns what used to be "the purple 34 fullfender 5w from Ellington". The new owner knew all the local rods back in the 50s-60s, and finally got to buy the purple coupe. He very well could know who the Fla guy was. That's my best guess. Someone needs to ask before all these guys p*** away. Someone needs to find out first hand from an older rodder, if the car really did go to Fla. Right now, it is all second hand info at best. I think the IceBox either lost it's history and got a makeover, or I suppose it still could be in a garage,estate or? If the spider grille got tossed, the car would be tough to ID in the last few decades, especially before the internet.
""If Matt can ask around more at Pratt East Hartford plant. I think that is where a 70 year old rodder still was working a few years ago. That guy lives in Stafford near Sun Valley and he now owns what used to be "the purple 34 fullfender 5w from Ellington"."" Hi F&J, glad to see you here..I was going to suggest Matt look up Bob Smith at Pratt, last I knew in one of the tool rooms, 2nd shift have to mention me.. ..He has been in Stafford Springs all his life [I think] and at one time when I went to visit we went to a shop that had a coupe and it was supposed to be of note but I don't think I heard "Ice Box"..It was just the body and was before 69' so I doubt if it was..It was John H's cousin that told me he had it and showed me a pic of it saying his cousin built it but the story changed when I recognized the car, around 68' definitely before 69'..I agree about the grill, have to add in the chrome door hinges too...
I'll check with Bob, he's still on 2nd shift. I haven't heard anything back at all on the car. I was getting excited about the possibility of new info
Quote: " ..He has been in Stafford Springs all his life [I think] and at one time when I went to visit we went to a shop that had a coupe and it was supposed to be of note but I don't think I heard "Ice Box"..It was just the body and was before 69' so I doubt if it was.." Seb, that body could not have been from the IceBox if your 1969 date is correct. The IceBox looked as good as that last blue color pic above, when I last saw it still in John's ownership in 70 or 71. It was still blue, still had the chromed nailhead. After the car was sold by him, it then got ripped up, painted brown, SBC? maybe. Almost unrecognizable when it was at the South Windsor swapmeet in mid or later 70s, unless a person knew the car as it used to be. I did not recognize it, but I was with a guy that knew John, and rode in the car a few times. He told me it was the IceBox. It's hard to believe so much of the car was destroyed during the mid 70s. Yes, the old builds were a bit shaky underneath, but it still "looked" excellent before it was torn up. There is yet another channeled 33-34 5w coupe in Willington, but not the IceBox. It is still owned by the guy who last drove it in 1966 ! His son stopped by last year and showed me a cell pic of him driving it with his father on it's first drive since 66. I lived in my first house in Willington from 1975 till 2002, and I never knew of this coupe that was 3 miles from my home, and 2 miles from John's parents home. I ended up meeting the elderly owner in mid 2002 and that is when I first got to see it. ...Stuff that seems gone forever,... might not be...
Matt, just a little bit of history. When Rene Lussier still owned the ice box, and was in the C.A.R.B.S. car club in Hartford, the spider web grill fell out, and Rene ran it over. He built a new grill to replace the first one. as far as the Voo Doo roadster, I believe it was owned by Nelson Deschaneau from Springfield, M***. Nelson sold the car to Gene ( Lippy) DeRoschuer ( spelling ) who lives in Manchester. Lippy sold the roadster to Gordy Gere from Manchester. Gordy sold the roadster to his cousin, Frankie Bedell, also from Manchester. Frankie was wheelchair bound as a result of Polio at a young age. Frankie, Bob Juliano, Billy Hyson, Jim Darby, Ronnie Nosky, Denny Kerin, Doug Wright, Ronnie Hanko, Pete Malinguagio, Bill Coleman and myself as well as ,several others were in the same car club. It was our club, New England Street Rodders that put on the swap meet at Larry Tribble's, Southern Auto Auto Sales,facility in East Windsor. Frankie married one of the Darby girls from Glastonbury. they had 2 children. Frankie p***ed away a few years ago. the roadster is now owned by Frankie's son. Ronny Nosky, Doug wright, Billy Hyson, Gordy Gere are still in Manchester. Contact me if you need phone numbers. I hope to see you in Glastonbury in October. nick..
After Stogy brought up this post, That I'd never seen.. Might as well kick the cobwebs off( pun intended) an see if there's any new lead's...
Hollywood it never gets old eh! "Kick the cobwebs off"......Did you read what Nick said about the web grille...must have been a voodoo plan by disgruntled haters......not to worry he replaced it and maybe started the trend... Truly this Hotrod was a serious looker...and deliverer in so many ways... Thanks to all for sharing your history of this wild thing...but as @Hollywood-East said anyone find it in a shed or barn yet...fingers crossed...
Paging @100% Matt...any Hotrod stories out of Pratt these days? One thing for sure that Ice box had some very unique body mods that would stand out if even a body...
Perfect hot rod btw I have 1 question, does the spider web grille make it a rat rod? I'd put a nailhead back into it and put it back just like it was when it was white and drive the wheels off it!
Interesting story, thanks for bringing this old thread back up. I have a question. We see a lot of stories of old hot rods that were great cars, won trophies at shows, featured in mags, and then they disappear and turn up decades later torn apart, just pieces left. How does that happen? Who tears apart a fully built car like that and then let's it disintegrate through neglect? I don't get it.
The Jalopy Journal
